Slipstream Service Packs and Cumulative Updates on a SQL Server 2008 Installation

Problem

I need to install SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster on a Windows Server 2008 R2
operating system. As per
Microsoft
KB article 955725, you would need to install SQL Server 2008 together with SQL
Server 2008 Service Pack 1 or a later update as a minimum requirement. How do I
proceed with a successful installation and not encounter the listed issues? In this
tip I will show you how to create a slipstreamed version.

Solution

After the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, I've decided to create a SQL Server
2008 Failover Cluster following the installation steps outlined in this
previous tip. I ran into an installation
problem as the process would go through the installation sequence until the very
end and then throw an error such as this.

TITLE: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Setup
------------------------------
The following error has occurred:
There was an error setting private property 'RequireKerberos' to value
'1' for resource 'SQL Network Name (MYSQLCLUSTER)'. Error: Value does not
fall within the expected range.
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkID=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&
EvtID=50000&ProdVer=10.0.1600.22&EvtType=0xDCFFB30D%25400X1251FB33

This is because Windows Server 2008 R2 (including Windows 7) does not use the
RequireKerberos property to determine whether Kerberos authentication is
enabled for a Network Name resource and is the very reason why the Failover Cluster
installation of SQL Server 2008 RTM fails. In order to prevent this, we would need
to create a slipstreamed version of the SQL Server 2008 installation media that
we will use for the setup process.

Note that while you can do this for both service packs and cumulative updates,
Microsoft recommends using service packs as they enable updating the entire product
while a cumulative update based on the original SQL Server 2008 installation media
can only update the SQL Support component.

To create a slipstreamed version of the installation media using SQL Server 2008
Service Pack 1, you need to download the setup file from
this site that is most appropriate for your environment. Since I am installing
a 64-bit SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster, I downloaded the file SQLServer2008SP1-KB968369-x64-ENU.exe.
Once you've managed to download the appropriate service pack file, extract the files
to a dedicated folder without installing. You can do so by running the EXE file
with the /x:target_folder switch from the command-line, similar to
the command below. Make sure that you are doing so in the Administrator console.

SQLServer2008SP1-KB968369-x64-ENU.exe /x:C:\SQL2K8SP1-x64

It is strongly recommended that you install the .NET Framework 3.51 prior to
doing any SQL Server 2008 installation. And since Windows Server 2008 R2 comes with
the .NET Framework 3.51, you can simply enable this feature by using the Add
Role option and selecting the Application Server Role as outlined
in this tip. We only need the .NET
Framework 3.51 in the selection list.

Once you've managed to extract the service pack files, run the sqlsupport.msi
file. Search for the file within the folder on which the service pack files
have been extracted. In my environment, the file is located in C:\SQL2K8SP1-x64\x64\setup\1033\sqlsupport.msi.
This will run the installation process for the SQL Server 2008 Setup Support Files

Go thru the installation process, accepting all the defaults.

Once you've completed the installation of the SQL Server Setup Support Files,
you are now ready to install SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster. You would need to
do so using the command-line, specifying the /PCUSource switch with
the location of the extracted service pack files, similar to the command below,
again, remembering to run this in the Administrator console.

setup.exe /PCUSource=C:\SQL2K8SP1-x64

You will see a prompt from the Program Compatibility Assistant
specifying that the program has known compatibility issues. Ignore this message
by simply clicking the Run Program button

Proceed with the installation of a SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster as outlined
in this tip. Once you have completed
the required parameters in installing a SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster, you can
validate that you are indeed using a slipstreamed version of the installation by
checking the Cluster Installation Rules page. An Update Setup
Media Language Rule item is shown in the rules list as shown in the screenshot
below.

Also, in the Ready to Install page, the Action
node indicates that it is indeed a slipstream install as shown in the screenshot
below.

This is a more simplified way of doing a slipstreamed installation for SQL Server
2008. For more information on other options, you can check out this
Microsoft KB article.

I was having the same problem on the Hyper V but after several iterations found that it was memory related. Once I moved the memory from 4 gig to 8 gig I did not have the issue. This worked for me in a clean install of the OS and SQL 2008

Really, I figured you would have problems with the VMware Workstation install. A few of us are having problems installing SQL 2008 (SP1 Slipstream) onto Server 2008 R2 in a VMware Workstation 7 environment. Is this similar to your tested setup. Did you run into any issues? Have any insights into our problem? Any help is greatly appreciated, Thanks!